On Tuesday, the City Council approved additional projects that will improve traffic safety throughout Carlsbad and support the city’s ongoing efforts to balance the needs of bicyclists, walkers and drivers. 

Lighted crosswalks along the beach

Carlsbad Boulevard, which historically has among the highest number of collisions citywide, will see six crosswalks upgraded with:

• Pedestrian-activated in-pavement flashing lights, the first in the city to include this safety feature
• Curb extensions, which shorten the crossing distance for walkers and send a visual cue to drivers to be alert for walkers
• New high-visibility crosswalk markings, similar to rungs on a ladder
• Green markings on bicycle lanes in areas where cars and bikes are most likely to experience conflicts

These six existing crosswalk locations are at the Army and Navy Academy between Mountain View Drive and Cypress Avenue, Oak Avenue, Sycamore Avenue, Maple Avenue, Cherry Avenue and Hemlock Avenue. Construction is anticipated to start at the end of 2022, and the project should be completed by summer 2023. 

More information. 

Reducing speeding

Following complaints about speeding, city traffic engineers worked with residents to develop “traffic calming” treatments on two busy streets, Cadencia Street and Gateway Road. Now that the changes have been implemented, speed surveys show that a reduction in speed limit of 5 miles per hour can be justified.

Cadencia Street from Del Rey Avenue to west of Perdiz Street now has:

• Three radar speed feedback signs, two for the southbound direction and one for northbound.
• A marked crosswalk with pedestrian-activated flashing beacons on the north side of the intersection at Venado Street.

Gateway Road between El Camino Real and El Fuerte Street features:

• An existing raised and marked crosswalk with flashing beacons, located 630 feet east of El Camino Real.
• Two sets of “chicanes” installed in 2019. A chicane is a series of alternating mid-block curb extensions or islands that helps reduce vehicle speeds because motorists are required to maneuver through the curving, S-shaped path.
• A marked crosswalk with pedestrian-activated flashing beacons installed in 2020 at the west leg of the intersection at Innovation Way.

Until recent changes in state legislation, speed limits could only be set within a narrow range, based on how fast cars travelled on a particular street. That’s why the city often starts with physical changes to the road. 

Assembly Bill 43, which went into effect this year, gives cities greater flexibility in lowering speed limits in certain areas. As part of the current traffic emergency, the City Council directed staff to evaluate city streets where speed limits could be reduced under these new rules.

More information. 

Sidewalk improvements 

Carlsbad’s policy since 2015 has been to focus on creating “complete streets,” which provide a welcoming environment for all modes of travel. A project approved Tuesday will build new sidewalks where there are currently gaps at the following three locations:

• The east side of Garfield Street, between Tamarack Avenue and Redwood Avenue
• The west side of Tamarack Avenue, from approximately 700 feet south of Kirkwall Avenue to 550 feet north of Edinburgh Drive
• The east side of Monroe Street, between Marron Road and the driveway entrance to The Shoppes at Carlsbad

These locations are identified as segments with missing or substandard sidewalks in the city’s Sustainable Mobility Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in January 2021.

More information. 

California Office of Traffic Safety grant 

The City Council accepted a $113,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program for fiscal year 2022-23. The money will be used by the Carlsbad Police Department to enforce traffic laws and prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries through various campaigns, DUI checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, training and equipment.

More information. 

Local roadway safety plan

The City Council approved the city’s first Local Roadway Safety Plan, a comprehensive assessment of collision data citywide, that identifies, analyzes and prioritizes roadway safety improvements to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. The city started this plan before the traffic emergency was declared. Completing it makes the city eligible for state grant funding for transportation safety projects, including some proposed in the city’s Safer Streets Together Plan.

• The analysis covers collision data from 2015 to 2019 (excluding the atypical years of the pandemic).
• Since competing this plan, the city has gathered additional data covering from 2019 to 2022.
• As a result of the traffic emergency, the city has already started to implement several of the recommendations in the plan and others are proposed in the Safer Streets Together menu of options.

More information. 

Upcoming road widening on El Camino Real 

The City of Carlsbad is planning to widen northbound El Camino Real from Cinnabar Way to Camino Vida Roble and widen northbound El Camino Real from Sunny Creek Road to Jackspar Drive to add a third vehicle lane. This is a requirement to meet city design standards and the standards in the city’s General Plan and Growth Management Plan, which call for El Camino Real to be a six-lane roadway. 

In addition to providing an additional northbound vehicle lane, the project will provide new sidewalks, new streetlights, and enhanced buffered bike lanes.

The city needs to acquire additional right-of-way from the property owners along these segments to widen the roadway. The design has been completed and the project is ready to move forward with negotiating with the property owners and acquiring the real property and easement needed to proceed with the project.

More information. 

Learn more about the city's Safer Streets Together resources, other traffic safety projects and plan.